Cover Embossing

With the establishment of the Safavid dynasty in the 10th/16th century, there was a cultural shift from Herat in the east to Tabriz in the northwest and to Shiraz in the south. Widespread embossing of covers, introduced by the Timurids, now became the norm. In some cases complete block stamps were impressed twice to form a complete design, which can often leave a noticeable join across the middle of the cover.